Mean Girl or Misunderstood?
by Sweeney's 1 and only
Summary: Life gets better ........ it has to. Amber and O/C; starts about 2-3 weeks after the end of the movie/musical. R and R please!
1. Chapter 1

**_Disclaimer: I do not own the charaters used within this story._**

**_Beta: Kgon Akumu_**

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Mean Girl or Misunderstood?

A Biography of Amber Von Tussle

Chapter 1 - An intro to a very sad life

Amber Von Tussle was the type of girl who seemed to have a perfect life, but anyone who thought this was sadly mistaken. Her relationships were haunted with ghosts of awful advice she'd received from her Mother; she'd just lost her boyfriend to a girl who had EVERYTHING, and the only person she could actually talk to was someone she was constantly trying to avoid. Her popularity was suddenly in short supply, and people who used to be her best friends were all of a sudden not returning her phone calls or on speaking terms with her at school. Sometimes she felt that she would never be happy.

Although she was very close with her Mother, Velma Von Tussle, that never really did her very much good. Mrs. Von Tussle was the Station Manager for WYZT. Although Amber prided herself on how well she believed she could dance, deep down she knew that the only reason she was on the Corny Collins show was because every once in a while Velma would sleep with her boss. It hurt to know that her Mother was so nonchalant about getting her way through blow jobs, but what could Amber do about it? That's why she always put all her effort into the Corny Collins Show; she wanted to be on the show at least on some of her own merit.

Her life as a whole pretty much sucked. When she was only seven, her Father died, at her Mother's hand. He was considerably older than Mrs. Von Tussle and hadn't been doing so well. To speed up the process, Velma had slipped some Potassium Chloride into his IV, and threatened that if the Nurse had told anyone, she'd kill her, or worse, make her "unhireable". Of course, at the funeral Mrs. Von Tussle seemed very grief-stricken about the death of her beloved husband. After all, she was a very impressive actress, one of the traits that she so often referred to as what got her the title of 'Miss Baltimore Crabs'.

Yes, the title 'Miss Baltimore Crabs' often escaped Velma's mouth, below wide, star-struck eyes, and a perfect, reminiscent grin nearly always followed. You could say this was her 'claim to fame'. She insisted that this was the perfect thing for a girl to have, a reason for people to be impressed with her; something to make their eyebrows shoot up and their mouths to form silent, 'Oooohhh's. She often would continue to say that the Miss Teenage Hairspray Pageant was as close as she was going to get to one of these.

She'd won the title of 'Miss Teenage Hairspray' for the past 3 years, but this year Inez Stubbs won that title, and Amber could clearly see why. Inez was a wonderful dancer, and she had beautiful, dark brown skin and hair; much more attractive than Amber's pale white skin, and almost white-blonde hair. She sometimes even planted herself at her mirror, cursing herself for a reflection that looked so like her Mother.

She was her spitting image, and no matter how hard she tried, she sometimes found it hard to separate herself from her. _"We're completely different, I would never just give myself_ _to someone to get some cheap reward for it the way she does, NEVER!!"_ But this still frequently drove her to tears, after all, how could you separate yourself from someone you'd spent the first nine months of your life in? Was it even possible?

The only slight comfort was that she only had 3 more weeks of going to that awful place they called High School. She'd already found a college that she was accepted to and they were expecting her in the fall. She was pursuing her interest in history. She adored history on so many different levels because it allowed her to escape from the dreadful life she couldn't help but lead and the way it allowed her to live someone else's life temporarily, to be in their shoes for a little while.

She dreamed of someday having a book published about some tremendously known event that never had very much light shed on it, and would really show people the true human prerogative or condition. Yes, she would help people understand themselves more, somehow or other. Her Mother still didn't know about the history bit, but she was aware that Amber would be leaving for college in only 3 short months. They'd made a wager that after Amber completed 4 years of college, she would return home and they would figure it out from there. Amber practically had to beg her Mother to let her do this, and she was very proud of the result.

Secretly, she planned to save up money during her 4 years of college, and by the time she'd graduated, she would be able to permanently get away from Baltimore; from everything that had prevented her from leading the happy life she knew she deserved.

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	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2-A New Character

Chapter 2-A New Character

The next day was a Wednesday. Amber especially hated Wednesdays lately because these were the days she had the most classes with Link. Ever since the Miss Hairspray Pageant she could barely even look at Link without missing him. For the rest of the week they were reviewing for exams, so classes weren't too challenging.

She'd always been a good student, so she knew she wouldn't have any problems with exams.2 0Her first class was biology, which she stomached pretty well, since that was the only class she didn't have with Link, but she had English Studies next and there was hardly a way to not notice him since he sat right next to her!!

As she dawdled at her locker, dreading walking into the classroom, she saw Tracy and Link walking past her. Hand in hand, laughing together. They seemed to share this amazingly hilarious joke that no one but them could comprehend. When they got to the classroom door, they faced each other and whispered something in unison before giggling again.

"_There they go with that great joke again, God! When would they just give it a rest?!"_

They quickly stopped giggling though, only to kiss each other passionately. Amber couldn't look. She turned her head and violently shut her eyes. She took a deep breath and slowly let it out, although it didn't calm her down any. She turned around again to find them smiling at each other, right before they parted. Link went into the classroom, and Tracy turned to her left and down the Hall.

As slow, hot tears ran down her face she thought to herself,

_"I've got to get out of here. If only I were in college already… I don't think I can face these people anymore." _

She quickly wiped away her tears, shoved her English Studies book back in her locker, and ran for it. She pushed her way through the pre-class crowds. She didn't acknowledge people when she noticed them staring at her, she just kept running. She finally reached the front doors and grabbed the trunk of an old oak tree, slowly sliding down as more tears escaped her eyes. Soon tears turned into blubbering, loud, hard gasps and the painful moan of heartbreak. She didn't say a word, just thought,

_"Why has my whole life gone to pots? I know I wasn't always the nicest person to everybody, but now it feels like I have absolutely nothing positive in my life. I got fired from the Corny Collins Show, my only real interest, I've got no friends, an ex-boyfriend who I'm still in love with, and my Mother is probably the worst thing for me, and she's the only one who's still willing to speak to me. How could it have gone this far?"_

"Hey lady, what are ya crying for?"

Amber tore her face from the tree trunk to face at the source of that sudden voice. He was a tall boy with dark skin and hair, taking a drag on a cigarette. He was handsome, and it made her feel even more ashamed to know that he had probably seen her whole meltdown.

"Uh, nothing, (sniffles), I'm fine" she replied while wiping tears away for the second time that day. He scoffed and replied, "Doesn't look like nothin'. I was afraid your eyes were gonna pop out a few minutes ago.

Amber stifled a laugh. It amazed her how infectious his upbeat mood was. Sure it was nice of him to be concerned, but did he honestly think she would bear her soul for a perfect stranger?

"Ya wanna talk about it?" he said, dropping his cigarette, snubbing it out, and putting his hands in his pockets.

"_Alright then, I guess he wants me to bear my soul for a perfect stranger…"_

"Well, it's a long story, my life story almost. I don't even think _I_ understand it fully. "

"You see, this is where I come in. I figure if you convey everything you know to me, then we can figure it out together, as a group effort. Ya get what I'm saying?" he said sitting down next to her. He grinned at her confidently. How could she possibly fight a cute, grinning boy who was willing to help her solve her problems?

"Besides, I'll do anything to stop you from crying again. It kills me to see such a pretty girl in distress like you…"

"_I wonder if it would be polite to die now…"_

_**Reviews make the world go round so lets keep it spinning.**_


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3-An encouragement

"…So now I've got no friends, no career, no hope in Baltimore, and a dysfunctional Mother!" Amber helplessly cried. She'd just come to the end of her problems, and Wilson (the cute boy who was sitting next to her) had patiently listened and waited, totally enthralled with her story.

"Well, that does seem like a bit of a catastrophe… Gee, I wasn't expecting that much to come out!" Wilson said laughing. "I can see where you're coming from though. Last month my ex-girlfriend got beat up, and everybody thought I did it because that's where she pointed the finger, but I never touched her. The police around here hardly paid attention, so instead of finding the real guys that did it, they blamed me too! I guess it would look like I did it 'cause she dumped me the week before, but I swear it wasn't me. I sure wish I _did_ know who it was though, maybe then I'd be able to talk some sense into everybody! None of my friends have talked to me since though. It's tough."

"Wow, that's awful. Do your parents believe you at least?"

"My parents are so worried about keeping our apartment that they don't have the time to worry about it. If I could get a job, I would, but since I have a record now it's a lot harder. I'm sure they'd believe me though, if I ever got the chance to explain."

"Well I believe you, if it's any cancelation. It probably doesn't really mean anything to you, but it's really all I can do."

"It does help actually, thank you. Hey! How about we stick together as long as we're stuck here? It'd make it a little more bearable, what do ya say?"

"_Hmmm… I wonder if 'YES YES YES!!' sounds too creepy…"_


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4-This is happiness, almost…

After she'd politely said good-bye to Wilson, Amber figured that the rest of school wasn't worth it, so she went to the set of "The Corny Collins Show" for old times' sake. She was surprised when she found the door unlocked, and then walked in to see who would be there. She was never here in the middle of the school day; after all, she'd never skipped before. She called out 'hello' a few times, but when no one answered her, she proceeded into Corny's office, where she found him doing some paperwork, and blasting the radio. He jumped when he saw Amber at the door at first but then he turned the radio off, smiled and said,

"Amber! You scared me for a second there! Sit down! How are you?"

"Alright I guess, Mom's working for Channel 6 now, she's their new Manager, and I'll be leaving for collage soon."

Corny had been patiently listening until about halfway through when he started to look concerned and he asked,

"Amber, have you been crying?"

Amber looked at her folded hands in her lap, shut her eyes for a moment, and sighed before saying,

"I really don't want to talk about it, Corny. I was actually wondering if you had any openings in the new Council?"

"Listen, Amber, I didn't have anything to do with you being fired. I swear it was just-"

"No! I don't mean for me! I have a friend who might be interested…"

…

"Thanks Corny! I'll make sure he's here tomorrow! Thank you!"

She went home, let herself in, and plopped herself on her bed, smiling. Things were finally looking up. Wilson had mentioned money problems, and "The Corny Collins Show" payed Council Members pretty well. It wasn't definite yet, but it was pretty 

certain that Wilson would soon have a steady job, a happy steady job. Amidst these happy thoughts, her cat Christine strolled in and hopped onto her lap. It was usually quite humorous to watch Christine. She primarily acted just like a dog, as if she wasn't sure if she was one or not. It would bother Mrs. Von Tussle, but it intrigued Amber. As she stroked her snow white fur, she began to daydream about Wilson. She imagined him asking her out, taking her hands in his and kissing her on the lips, passionately. She imagined them looking into each others' eyes Link-and-Tracy style, his hands wrapped around her neck as he tenderly closed in on her… and then Christine jumped off her lap, and strolled out as casually as she'd strolled in.

She took a glance at the clock, 12:27. She'd be on her way to lunch now if she were in school. "_Darnet, I left my lunch in my locker at school. I even packed a good lunch this morning! Oh well, I'll just have to dig through the fridge." _She thought as she stood up and walked downstairs to venture through Leftover Land. After about 10 minutes of uselessly rummaging in vain, she decided to just make a replica of her school lunch. A fluffernutter sandwich, a yellow apple, a pint of milk, and a small bag of BBQ chips. She sat down to eat at the kitchen table and when she was almost done she heard the front door unlock. She stopped chewing and her eyes widened. A moment later her Mother walked in, carrying a paper bag and jingling her keys. The jingling stopped though as soon as she saw Amber sitting there. Velma's eyes got as wide as Amber's for a moment, and then they started to squint in anger.

"Uh, Hi Mom…"


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5-Freedom!

"What do you mean you skipped school?!"

"Mom, I'm sorry, I ju-…"

"You only have 2 and a half more weeks of school, and you decide to act up now?! What on Earth has gotten into you?!

"I just couldn't take it anymore! It seems like too much of an effort now to put on a smile and pretend I'm happy!"

"Well, you listen to me young lady! I don't care if you have to act like a Saint for the rest of the school year! Tomorrow you are going back to school! I will write a note saying you fell ill, excusing your absence. But I warn you! Don't expect me to do this every time you're too lazy to deal with your problems! I am very disappointed in you! Now go to your room before I say something I'll really regret!"

"But Mo-!"

"NO!! Your room! NOW!!

Velma put her hands on her hips and glared straight at Amber. As if she was actually trying to contain her anger. Amber ran upstairs and flew onto her bed. She landed face down and immediately began to cry. "_Maybe it was a mistake to skip. I'll probably have even more gossip to worry about tomorrow, at least before there was a chance of people forgetting about me, now they're sure to remember 'Amber Von Tussle's Big Breakdown'. Ugh, I wonder what horrors will await me tomorrow…"_

She stopped crying and attempted to think rationally for a moment. What did she do before when she was feeling down? She thought and thought, but then she came to the realization that things hadn't really been bad for years. When things did get sort of bad, all she had to do was call Link, and he'd tell her to meet him somewhere. Sometimes they'd meet at the park; other times a little diner 

where they'd get sodas and talk. And before Link was around, there'd always been a good friend who could comfort her. She'd never have to look too hard for a soothing soul. It seemed that besides Wilson, she was truly alone in the world. It might seem a little melodramatic, but this is what crossed her mind.

"_Well, the diner sounds pretty good right now, except that I've been exiled to my room. Chances are, she won't even let me come down for dinner. She'll pretend that I don't exist and forget about me until tomorrow morning."_

She looked around hoping to find an escape route.

" _The door? Nah, no way I'd get past Mom. The vent? Ha, if I were a Rockette… The window? Well, I'm only on the second floor…but what would I climb down with?"_

She stood up and looked out the window. Directly below her window were a few bushes. Not exactly soft, cushiony ones; more like stab-you-in-the-butt-if –you're-anywhere-near-them ones. She looked around for a source of fabric that was at least 15-20 feet. Knot making had never been a strong point, so she didn't want to depend on her knots to safely descend 2 stories. Again she looked around to see what could be of use, and the only thing that was even close to the length she needed was her 2 curtains tied together. Without anything else to work with, this is what she settled for. After 10 minutes and about 15 knots later, Amber decided that that had to do. She made a small loop at one end and put it on the nearest bed post. Before climbing out, she grabbed some money, stuffed it into a dress pocket, and thought to herself,

"_Gosh, what am I doing?! I'm sneaking out of my own house to get some thinking time. Oh well, I guess this is what happens when you're desperate…"_

She took a deep breath and climbed out. Clutching her curtains, she carefully scaled the wall. One slow step at a time. About half-way down she took a deep breath, but she didn't dare look down, she'd made it this far already, she wasn't about to ruin it now. Luckily, there was only one small window, and she easily avoided it on her way down. When she finally reached the bottom she was 

surprised that her feet reached horizontal ground. She carefully avoided the dangerous bushes, brushed herself off and headed for the diner.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6-Epiphany

Before I begin, I'd just like to say thanks to everyone that has been reviewing!! I love you guys!! You're what keep me going!! Sorry this one is so late!!

Now, onto our story…

Paranoia consumed Amber on her way to the diner. She saw everyone staring at her, and imagined them thinking, "What is wrong with that girl?! Why'd she just climb out of a window?!" Although she knew that no one was paying particular attention to her, it kind of made her mind run away with her. The diner wasn't very far from her house, it took less than 10 minutes if you knew where you were going, which Amber did.

She could still remember all the times that she met Link at the diner. All the long, intimate conversations they shared, all the problems they worked through over cherry cokes. It wasn't always just the two of them, sometimes they would double with IQ and Tammy, Paulie and Darla, and sometimes Fender and Doreen. It was like her second home over the summer last year. She was constantly there with someone. She tried to think of the last time she was there, and decided it had to have been almost a month ago, with Link. It was right before the Pageant, and right before they broke up.

It wasn't exactly the best of circumstances; they had seen Tracy and her friend that was going out with Motormouth's son now. What was her name again? Prudence? Penelope? Oh, it didn't really matter. Anyway, she and Link were already there when they came through the door. As soon as Tracy saw Link, her eyes lit up like she'd seen a pot of gold or something. "_Yeah, she did see a pot of gold, MY boyfriend…"_ She grinned and excitedly said Hi to Link, totally interrupting the conversation they'd been having a minute ago. Link reacted almost the same way, to Amber's horror, and Tracy's delight. The two of them chatted about the show a little before Tracy and what's-her-face got a booth right behind her and Link.

As soon as Amber thought they were done and opened her mouth to finish what she was saying before, they'd started all over again! An hour and 3 cherry cokes later, Tracy finally left with her friend and Link was right behind her, muttering something about homework, when she knew that they didn't have any. And on top of it all, he didn't even pay!

Coming out of her flashback, she noticed that in her anger, she'd walked about a block past the diner. She backtracked a little and walked in. "Big girls don't cry" by The Four Seasons was playing over the sound system. "_How appropriate…are they _trying_ to make this day worse, or is it coming naturally?!" _She sat down in a booth out of habit and patiently waited for a waitress. Whena familiar one came she said, "Hey Amber! How are ya, hun?"

"Fine thanks, Sal. The usual, please."

Sal smiled and said "Sure, sugar."

Amber couldn't help but smile too. She thought it was so cute how Sal always called everyone 'sweetheart' and 'honey' or 'sugar'. It really showed her affectionate personality. It drove Link crazy, though. He always said it made him uncomfortable. Even when Amber called him those things he didn't like it. He said they were 'too impersonal'. Actually, now that she thought about it, there were a lot of things that drove Link crazy. When she'd try to kiss him too long in public, or when she'd sit too close to him at lunch. He'd even get mad when she'd try to dance too closely with him on T.V!She put up with a lot to keep him happy! And this is how he'd repaid her!

"There ya go sweetheart." Interrupted her thoughts. Sal had placed 2 cherry cokes on the table, one in front of Amber, and the other where Link would normally sit. Whoops. She had said the usual, and 2 cherry cokes was the usual. Only it seemed that the sodas were the only thing that _was_ usual.

Then she finally understood. She finally got it! _"Me and Link were doomed from the start! The only reason we were going out in the first place was because Mom wanted us to. She said it would be better publicity, and 'if there was anything America loved, it was an inseparable, adorable couple.' I've been in love _

_with Link's image, not him at all! And I bet that's all Tracy's in love with too! Give her some time; she'll be in even worse shape than I was! But she won't have to figure it out for herself; I'll be there for her. If there's anyone I owe some respect to, it's Tracy. All the awful things I did to her. That's the least I could do. In fact, I really should apologize to her. That's it! I go right now to apologize to her! And explain everything to her! Yes! That's it!"_

Amber shot up from her seat, threw some change down and speed-walked toward the door. She had a fellow girl to save!


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7-An Attempt at Reconciliation, and Redemption

Amber always knew where Tracy lived. It wasn't exactly where she lived, obviously, because of their differences in lifestyles, but it wasn't really that much farther than Link's house was. It was about a 10 minute speed-walk from the diner, about half the time it took to regularly walk. The funny thing was that Amber didn't even notice how fast she was actually walking, her thoughts were going a mile a minute, and she guessed that her feet just had to keep up. Before she knew it, she was impatiently banging on the Turnblad door. She'd balled up a fist and gave it a good "_Bang, Bang, Bang"_

A few seconds later Mrs. Turnblad opened the door, in a so-obviously-new dress. Her eyebrows shot up and her jaw dropped as she said, "Amber? What are you doing here?" "Hi Mrs. Turnblad, is Tracy home? I _really_ need to talk to her about something." As soon as this rolled off her tongue, she heard Tracy excitedly say, "Is that Link, Mama?" as she also came to the door. Tracy didn't have the same reaction as Mrs. Turnblad, she had a skeptical expression and her eyes slowly narrowed, as she said, "Amber…? What are you doing here?" "Tracy, I really need to talk to you. I know we were never close, but-""About what? What would _you _want to talk to_ me _about? I'm low, unimportant Tracy, right Amber? I'm not worthy of being seen with you, and you hate me because I'm lower than you." "Bu-! NO!" "Admit it! You've always looked down on me, and now all of a sudden, who's looking down on whom? Who, Amber? That's right, Amber. I'm looking down on you." "You just have to listen to me, Link isn't what he seems-""Oh! So you're here to try to persuade me to give up Link because you miss him! Wow…I can't believe you've sunk so low, Amber." "No! That's not why! I'm serious! I don't want you to get hurt like I did!" "Yeah, yeah, whatever…I'm sure Amber. Please, before you embarrass yourself even more, go." And with that she shut the door.

The walk home was slow and sullen. _"Gosh, I can't believe she was that shrewd. I can't believe how evil she expected me to be…Well, I guess she had a right to expect that. Especially with a history like ours. As long as I can remember I've been horrible to her. Man, I'm a monster."_ Then she began to really examine her motives for telling Tracy about Link. Deep down, they weren't exactly the purest. She guessed revenge had something to do with it. But still, Link didn't have the right to drive girls crazy and treat them like that, not her and especially not Tracy. It just wasn't fair. But it also wasn't fair the way she had treated Tracy. After all, all she had done was try to be civil toward her, and if they had reversed roles, Amber would've wanted Link too. She couldn't really blame her.

When she got home, she discovered that climbing up was easier than climbing down. She pulled the curtains up through the window again and put them back up as best she could. She also discovered that it was 4:30 already. With no homework available to do, she had to occupy herself other ways. So, considering the fact that she'd probably need a lot of time before she'd get Link and Tracy out of her head, she decided to do something productive with it, she decided to play music that fit her mood-depressing music. This continued for an hour or so until she'd gone through her entire collection. She then decided to daydream about Wilson some more. She enjoyed daydreaming about him, being so cute and funny and wonderful in so many ways.

She fell asleep soon after this decision. She never remembered her dreams, but she'd remember this one for a while. She and Tracy were running down a hill together, laughing at themselves. They were having so much fun; her dream stomach began to hurt. Then all of a sudden she fell, rolling down the hill, increasing speed as she went. Tracy stood there pointing and having a grand ol' time, while Amber let out screams of terror. She kept falling and falling and falling, until she felt stones being thrown at her…

She woke up screaming and sweating to the sound of rocks at her window. She got up to check the noise. She found Link standing there grinning that smile she'd loved about him while they were still dating. "Link? What in the world…?" "Oh Amber, I love that confused expression on your face, makes you look adorable. "Link?! Wha-?! Where's Tracy?" "Probably sitting on her bed, head in hands waiting for me. But I decided to take someone else out tonight. You ready, babe?" He said with another wonderfully adorable grin.

All Amber could do was allow her jaw to drop. She seriously thought about it for a moment. Sure, she had wished for this to happen so many times, scores and scores and scores of times even, but now that she realized who he really was, and who she really was, she couldn't. "No Link." His face all of a sudden fell. "What do you mean, _No_? " "Precisely that. I refuse to let you control me and treat Tracy like dirt, just like you treated me. You had all your pet peeves, but you really only wanted to make sure you'd be available for your next victim. I won't let you do that to me. Not now, not ever." "Amber do you know what you're doing? This is your last chance to take me back, and I can assure you, you'll regret it if you don't." She half-laughed, "I know I'll regret it Link, but then I'll come back to my senses, and I'll be proud of myself all over again. You know, I finally realized what a monster I was, but you easily put me to shame. Good Bye Link. Hopefully I won't be seeing you." "Amber! Are you really sure abou-!" She'd closed the window. She then decided to drown him out with victory music, and daydreaming about Wilson, hoping that if she fell asleep, she'd have a better dream.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8-Repaying the Favor

Thursday morning began with Mrs. Von Tussle, fully dressed, screaming, "You lazy lump! You are GOING to school today! Whether you like it or not! Get UP!" Amber sat up and blinked a couple times and was trying to understand what her Mother was screaming at her. "_Oh, she's yelling at me to get up, OK… now I get it…" _Amber had never been the type to wake up early or easily, so being screamed at to wake up was a normal occurrence. "OK, OK, I'm up Mom." "You'd better be! And who's Wilson?!" Amber looked at her Mother with a puzzled look. Velma rolled her eyes, let out a disgusted 'Ugh!' and stomped out of Amber's room and down the steps.

"_Was I really dreaming about Wilson? What did I say out loud? Oh yeah, I do kind of remember a dream… Wilson and I were at the diner, both of us were sipping cherry cokes, smiling, laughing, but something was wrong. Wilson was wearing Link's clothes, and he had Link's hairstyle, and the same smile…And he was saying all the things Link had said last time we were at the diner before Tracy came… WEIRD." _Amber shook her head to get the image out and then got out of bed to get ready for school. After she'd dressed, she mentally prepared herself to go down stairs. There was no way she was going to be able to avoid her Mother forever, so she might as well face her as soon as possible, that way she'd be on time for school. She usually walked but she still needed a lunch, and the sooner they'd gotten their really big fight out of the way, which Amber was sure was going to take place as soon as she got downstairs; the sooner, the better. She took a deep breath and slowly walked down the steps.

She was greeted with, "What have you been doing up there?! You're gonna be late!" "Mom, it's only quarter after… and it only takes me 15 minutes to get there…" "Oh, well watch your time. Here's your note. Make sure this gets to the Main Office" She snarled. "OK, Mom" Amber took it calmly. "_Maybe she's too mad to fight this, or maybe she doesn't have enough insults to throw at me yet… yeah- it's probably the second…" _Then Mrs. Von Tussle grabbed her purse and stomped out the door. "_Wow, that was easy… how did I get away with that one? Whatever… I'm not going to ask at this point…"_ Amber then put the remainder of her lunch in a paper bag and made sure she had her house key in her pocket. _"This might not even work if she changes the locks on me… but just in case…" _Knowing she had everything she needed for school that day, she began her walk to school.

When she got there it was 7:35, meaning she still had 25 more minutes before school started. After she'd gone to her locker and gotten ready for the school day, she still had 20 minutes. "_Geez, who would've thought dawdling was this hard when you didn't really have any friends…?" _ She figured that the best place to go was the oak tree that she'd sat under yesterday with Wilson. Maybe she'd run into him again, that would give her the opportunity to tell him about his new spot on the Corny Collins show, well, it wasn't actually a spot yet, but at least Corny said that he was willing to see him dance. That was pretty good considering that she remembered that he said he liked to dance, she was pretty optimistic about it. It was the first thing she was going to say to him, well at least that's what she thought would be the first thing she said to him, before he hit her with, "Like this spot, huh?" She looked up mid-thought, and smiled, "Yeah, I had a great conversation with this really cool guy yesterday, I figure it's kind of lucky." They both laughed and Wilson replied, "So are you feeling any better?" while sitting down. "Tons, thanks. Hey, I need to talk to you about something; you said you liked dancing, right?" "Yeah, I do, why?" He gave her a puzzled look.

"Well, you're not going to believe this, but yesterday I talked to Corny Collins, and he said that he'd consider having you on the new council, if you can dance, of course." "What?! Are you kidding me? That's so cool! How'd you do that?" He quickly spit out with a stunned expression as he moved closer to Amber. "Well, we've known each other awhile, he was always a friend at least, and he IS looking for a new integrated council, so it wasn't really hard at all. I'm really glad you're excited though. I didn't know how you'd take it!" "This is amazing! I used to dream about th-! Oh…" His eyes suddenly fell to the floor. "What is it?" Amber asked, concerned. "What if he hears about my record? There's no way he'd hire a criminal." "No! You can't think like that! If you explain it to him, I'm certain he'll understand. He's one of the good guys! I'll even go with you in case he needs convincing! You can do this!" He smiled at the floor, and slowly looked up. "We'll see. If this guy isn't everything you say he is-"Amber interrupted him. "He is! And if he's not, well, don't worry about that, just keep thinking he is!" He laughed "You're really pushing this, aren't you?" "Of course I am! Why shouldn't I? After all I'm just repaying a favor." He looked at her, puzzled again, "What?" "You got me to talk, got me to realize how ridiculous it was for me to think my life didn't even have a chance at getting better. I think that that doesn't even compare to what I did and am doing for you." She smiled at him. He laughed again and replied, "Well, that's one way of looking at it… What did you do yesterday that suddenly you seem fine?"

Now it was Amber's turn to laugh, "I did a lot of things. I tried to talk to Tracy, but she wouldn't let me. I turned Link down…" "Wait a second, what? How did you turn Link down? Did you forget to tell me something? ""Alright, well I might as well start from the beginning… After I came home from trying to talk to Tracy, I started thinking about how it was unfair for Link to treat me the way he did, and the way I' m sure he's treating Tracy for that matter; and then, out of nowhere, Link is outside my window. He starts talking about how it was my last chance to take him back, and the only thing I could think to do was tell him no. He told me I'd regret it, but I don't. I'd rather be alone than be with someone like Link. She smiled to herself, and said, "Does that answer your question?" "Yeah, it does. Wow, you just continue to amaze me. First you're this pathetic, desperate creature that hardly had legs to stand on, and you're telling off your ex-boyfriend, who just recently dumped you. Yeah, I guess a lot did happen yesterday." He laughed again. "You know what's funny? I always told myself that people didn't change, that it was impossible for people to change, but I proved myself wrong. All I needed was a little perspective. And a little encouragement of course, but mostly perspective, and to tell you the truth I feel like I'm finally realizing who I am." She looked Wilson right in the eye and smiled, and as the bell rang, he smiled right back.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9-High School can be such a drag…

"Oh no! First homeroom bell! Meet me here at 3 o' clock?" Amber asked desperately. "Why not..? Wanna hit up Corny Collins, then?" Wilson replied with a smirk. Amber grinned and said, "Love to. Bye!" as she flew up the steps and down the hall to her homeroom. Luckily, her homeroom was on the bottom floor. She slid past the threshold of the classroom just as the second bell rang. "You're lucky, Miss Von Tussle. Nice of you to join us this morning… Take your seat…"said her homeroom teacher, Mrs. Wallace. She was the book-ish type of teacher who stared down misbehaving students over her reading glasses and she stared Amber down as she took her seat. Mrs. Wallace continued taking roll, calling out names of the other students in the class. There wasn't anyone in Amber's homeroom who still talked to her, but she was fine with that. The less people talked to her, the less miserable she was, especially after her little break-down yesterday.

Thursdays weren't too awful. Atleast they were better than Wednesdays… She had a few classes with Link but every class she had with Link, she also had with Tracy, except for detention of course. Heck, she'd probably have detention for skipping…

"_Oh! Mom's note for yesterday! I forgot to bring it to the office! Oh well, maybe Mrs. Wallace will let me go… Maybe it'll rain monkeys, too…"_

Amber raised her hand, and very politely asked, "Mrs. Wallace, may I please drop off a note for the office?"

"The bell is going to ring in 2 minutes, Miss Von Tussle. You'll be able to drop off your note then."

Amber nodded and thought, "_How will I be able to drop it off while still being on time for English? Eh. I've been running or speed walking for a whole 24 hours, why stop now?"_

Amber triple-checked that she had everything she needed for English. As soon as she'd done that, the bell rang and the usual mass-exodus of switching classes began. She sped walked to the office which was on the opposite side of the floor where English was. Trying to ignore the whispers and stares, she clutched the note with her mother's perfect, smooth handwriting. Walking into the office, she met the Head Administration woman, Miss Miller. She was as American as her last name… She was also the type who epitomized the words 'cute and perky'. It was hard to believe that anyone in the whole building could be anything but ecstatic while she was around. She looked up from her type-writer, her bright pink finger nails poised over the keys and said, "Hi, there! What can I help you with?"

Amber couldn't help but smile and say, "I have a note from my Mother…?"

Amber handed the note to Miss Miller and she looked it over. Amber glanced at the clock on the back wall of the office. She had one minute to get to the other side of the floor.

"Peachy! Hope you're feeling better , Sweetie! Thank you!" Miss Miller said, with her ridiculously wide and characteristic grin.

"Thanks!" Amber sped walked to English, relieved that that mini-problem was solved. The bell rang when she was a few steps away from the door. Talking gigantic steps, she was late by about 10 seconds. Luckily, Mr. Sands was looking down at a paper at his desk, so he didn't notice Amber slip into her seat. She opened her notebook, took out a pen, and looked up, ready to be the perfect, on-time student. Mr. Sands looked up a few minutes later.

"Alright class, let's get started. I have a few notes to finish up today, then you should have everything you need for your exams."

He pulled a notebook up from his desk and began writing on the board. It almost seemed surreal that there were still exams to worry about… With all her personal battles, school seemed a little unimportant… Amber was already practically out the door, worrying about getting away from Baltimore, she could hardly find the motivation to care about exams…

She took careful notes, as usual, for the rest of that period and went to the rest of her classes.

Tracy gave Amber a few strange looks in class, but atleast Tracy wasn't nearly as mean as Amber used to be… Link gave her a few secret smirks, as if to say, "Yeah, you just sit there on your own and regret not taking my offer…"

Amber ignored both of them. She'd become an expert at ignoring people lately, so she didn't mind so much. Sure, her stomach did a few back-flips when she saw him throw those 'oh-so-handsome' smirks at her, but she just had to keep telling herself that it was better to be alone then to be Link's pet, even if it still hurt.

Aside from the new looks from people and the usual Link and Tracy problems, the day was pretty uneventful. Most teachers just gave their class free time to study for exams, so Amber spent most of the day thinking about Wilson's audition for the Corny Collins Show.

"_I wonder how good of a dancer he is… I'm sure he's wonderful. I hope he's wonderful… What if he isn't? Oh, I'm SURE he's fine. I hope Corny'll like him. I'm sure Corny'll think he's great. I wonder what it'll be like to be back at the station, to see people dancing again… I finally realized how much I miss it." _

It's amazing how quickly a day can fly by when you spend the entirety of it day-dreaming. Amber could've taken some books home to study, but it would be pointless, she wouldn't have the motivation to study, so what was the point?

She stood outside school, right under the oak tree and waited for Wilson. She hummed "I'll Never Dance Again" by Bobby Rydell. She didn't know when it popped in her head, but it seemed awfully appropriate. She looked around occasionally and she caught Wilson walking toward her at about 3:05. Amber couldn't help but grin and Wilson grinned back.

"_Oh yeah, much cuter than Link's smirk…"_

He finally walked to where Amber was standing, and for the first time, Amber got the first word in…

"Ready for your audition?"

"Not really, but I think you're ready enough for the both of us…"

"Come on, let's go. I'll give you tips on the way…"

Amber led the way and Wilson followed. Amber told her about the moves she did for her audition. Sure, she really didn't have to audition at all since her Mother got her into the show, but Amber wanted to prepare Wilson the best she could.

"Just remember that as long as you look like you're having fun and you keep smiling, Corny will keep an open mind. You'll be fine, trust me."

"You're never even seen me dance though. Why are you so determined to set me up with this gig?"

Amber had to think about that one… "I guess because I've always been a little disturbed with the fact that I wasn't on the show on my own merit, so I want to make it up with you."

Wilson had been looking at the ground, but he looked up when he said, "Guess I just got lucky then…" He looked at her and gave her the kindest, gentlest smile she'd seen on his face yet.

"Nah, I got lucky… I found someone who was willing to talk me, the social leper, and actually enjoy themselves. I'd say that's pretty darn lucky…"

Wilson just looked at the ground and smiled this time.

Amber suddenly said, "You know, I still don't know what school you go to…"

"Washington Public High"

Amber remembered that Washington High was barely 5 minutes away from Patterson. Washington was a much older building though. It was basically designated as the 'poor, African American' high school. It didn't surprise Amber that was where Wilson went. She knew it had to be close and it wasn't Patterson. Plus, Wilson had mentioned having trouble with the rent, but wasn't going to hold that against him…

"Good to know…"

They both smiled at each other again, but almost laughingly. They knew a lot about each other considering how long they'd known each other, but something as simple as Wilson's school was an essential in a way.

They came to the back door of the station. They were obviously filming now, so Amber knew to be careful about where they were coming in. She reached for the door, but pulled her hand back.

"Let's do this…" Amber said and held out her hand.

Wilson took a deep breath, pulled up the left side of his mouth for a moment and took Amber's hand.

Amber opened the door and she was flooded with waves of loud music…


End file.
